Title: Kathy pitts' new mexico chili
Categories: Chili, Pork
Yield: 1 Batch
I don't have a real recipe for New Mexico-style chile, although I do
make it occasionally when I manage to drag home more fresh Anaheim or
Poblano chiles than I can dispose of otherwise. (Kroger's sometimes
has BIG bags of them for 99 cents a bag ;-)
What I do is first roast the chiles (either in the broiler or --
better -- over charcoal). The number of chiles I use depends on the
size/heat of the chiles, and can range from 2-3 to 10 or more. If the
chiles are really hot (it happens sometimes, even with Anaheims),
I'll also add 3-4 roasted green bell peppers to give the dish the
required pepper taste without rendering it inedible by anyone without
an asbestos esophagus.
After the chiles have cooled a bit, I peel and seed them, and cut
them into coarse dice. I sometimes (not always) will also roast/peel
5-6 tomatoes to place in the chiles, but tomatoes are optional in
this dish, and I usually don't use 'em.
Next, cut up 3-4 pounds of lean boneless pork (beef is sometimes
used, but isn't as good in this dish, IMHO, and I would imagine lamb
would be very good here indeed).
Coat the meat in seasoned flour, and brown it in hot lard. Remove
from the pan and set aside. Toss a couple of chopped onions into the
pot, along with a clove or two of garlic. When the onions are golden,
I add enough flour to make a roux, and cook until the roux is light
brown.
I then add chicken broth to make a fairly thin gravy, the pork,
chiles, tomatoes (if used), and season the dish with cumin and
Mexican oregano.
Simmer for a couple of hours, until the pork is tender and the
flavors have blended. The end dish should have a pronounced green
chile/pepper flavor and be the consistancy of a thick stew. It's very
good by itself, or as a filling for burritos/soft tacos, and is
wonderful reheated the next morning and served as a side dish with
scrambled eggs for breakfast. Wes, for some bizarre reason, likes it
over rice...
Sorry for the inexact recipe/directions. I learned to make this dish
from an ex-neighbor who was or mixed Hispanic/Native American
ancestry, and never QUITE got around to rendering her directions into
a real recipe. (She served the dish with fry bread, and a pot of
white beans on the side -- have no idea whether this was traditional
or simply the way she liked it.)
Kathy in Bryan, TX